For a moment, Bruce thought that the wolf was going to desist from attacking him but Elora was relentless. She got up, shook off the pain of the impact she had with the tree and growled. Now she was more furious and eager to pounce on him. Her blue eyes were sending shots of passionate vexation at Bruce as she sneered, prepared to engage again.
"You really don't have to do this!" Bruce said, this time not as a plea but as a warning. For a moment, he was hesitant with the feeling inside of him to take down Elora but with her coming at him again, it was obvious that she wasn't ready to give up.
"Alright then! Since you want it the hard way, you shall get it." Bruce growled totally pissed off. He squatted, ready to ward of the attack of the wolf whose canines were out and ready to thrust into Bruce's skin.
Elora walked round him, gradually looking for a perfect time to strike. Bruce stood at a spot monitoring her movement carefully, being so careful not to miss any of her steps as it was very obvious that she was very tricky and fast.
Elora growled again and rushed at Bruce, this time aiming for his legs so much eagerness to take a bite from his left foot reflecting in her eyes as she flashed towards him.
Whoosh! Came Bruce's arms grabbing her by her neck and pressing very hard. Elora struggled to free herself from Bruce's grip but the more she struggled, the more firm his grip was. She was losing breath, tears were gradually steaming from her eyes.
Whimpering in pain, she sank her claws into Bruce's side but that didn't make him quit choking her. Soon she gave up and passed out.
Certain that she was truly out, Bruce left her and she sprawled to the floor. Then he put out his fingers and placed it in front of her nose; she was still alive as he could feel the air from her nostril. Soon. Elora changed back to her human form completely naked. She was a beauty to behold. Her raven hair was long, complementing her well structured face. Her skin was flawless with a ravishing color. 'How can such a beauty be wild?' Bruce thought completely disappointed.
Bruce dragged her body through the grasses till he got to a tree, then he carried her up and sat her down, her back resting on the tree. He rushed over to where his shirt lay on the floor and tore the pieces apart in a straight pattern creating two long linens.
He pulled Elora's hands behind and after holding them together behind the tree, he tied them together with the piece of cloth. Then he pulled her legs together and tied them with the other piece of his cloth. Pulling out some branches from a palm tree, he covered her up carefully concealing her body.
Certain that she wouldn't be able to move by the time she was awake, he sat on the floor and watched her for a while.
Bruce stood up after a while and moved towards the river to get some water. It was almost totally dark but he was really thirsty again. After gulping some water, he also caught some fish which he took with him to the spot where he left Elora.
Getting to the spot where he left her, Bruce gathered some dry leaves and twigs and with two rock, he set up a fire. Then he put up two short sticks which he stuck into the floor beside the two sides of the fire, then he placed one of the fish he caught so that it could roast.
Moments later, Elora was up; she slightly opened her eyes, her neck was still hurting from the lose of breath. She tried to move her hand to touch her neck but discovered that her hands were tied up. She struggled for a while to free herself but Bruce made sure she was not going to be able to free herself from the ropes.
Bruce noticed she was awake and attempting to free herself. He completely ignored her biting deep into the fish he was holding in his right hand.
"Let me go!" She commanded panting angrily exhausted from her struggles to free herself. Bruce looked at her for a while and smiled softly not speaking any word.
"Didn't you hear me, let me go!"
"You know struggling won't help you. Your attitude too won't do that either." Bruce said still smiling after he had watched her attempt to free herself after shouting at him.
Seeing that Bruce was actually speaking the truth and that she was actually exhausted from struggling, she became calm still looking at him with anger.
"What do you want with me?" She asked with a low voice.
"I should be the one asking. Not you!" Bruce said calmly turning his gaze at her. He moved closer to startling her as he approached. He looked at her closely and with his hands, dusted out the sand in her face.
"Now tell me. Who sent you?" Bruce asked lifting her head above with his hands, his face showing signs of coldness.
Elora kept mute glaring at him without blinking. She didn't budge notwithstanding the fact that Bruce seemed to be serious with his question and was in the position of dealing with her if she chose not to respond to his question.
"I see, you are a hard one." Bruce said smiling. He moved away from her and picked up a red hot branch from the fire. Then he moved it closer to Elora's eyes with an unwavering persistence to get her to speak.
Seeing that Bruce was surely going to plunge her eyes with the hot stick, Elora whimpered, struggling to free herself in a failed attempt.
"Wait!" She shouted panting from fear of losing her eye.
Bruce smiled and withdrew the burning stick from her throwing it aside. Then he removed his other hand from her neck as he had held it up firmly so that he could keep her face firm while he thrusted the hot stick into her eye.
"I will speak!" She said still panting. Then she bent her face and inhaled enough air gathering up her energy.
"Go on!" Bruce commanded impatiently.
"The council declared you a rogue. You have been exiled as a pack less wolf and a bounty placed on your head." She said with the regrets of how Bruce has gotten her to speak. She was vexed up that her pride had been roiled with.
"I see." Bruce said softly taking in a deep breath and sighing.
There was only one way that he could be declared a rogue by the Council, that was if he was found guilty of a grievous crime. Certainly with the situation at hand, his uncle must have told the council that he was responsible for the death of his father. His uncle had perfectly masterminded his plan and carried it out excellently. Bruce's rage grew. He was very eager to make his uncle pay and prove himself innocent.
"Did you really kill your father?" Elora asked suddenly developing some soft spot for the man who constrained her. Certainly the story he heard was not aligning with the reality of her situation. 'Anyone who would be able to kill his father in cold blood surely wouldn't spare anyone who tried to kill Jim.' She thought staring right into his eyes.
"What do you think?" Bruce responded to her question staring right back into her eyes. He saw the remarkable concern Elora had in her and was eager to use it at his disposal.
"Did you?" Elora said again, this time with a calmer voice and with so much eagerness to hear what he was going to say.
"I could be guilty of so many things, but killing my father isn't one of them." Bruce responded softly. His eyes were looking right into Elora's eyes without a blink. He stood up, filled with a mixture of rage and pain and walked few steps away.
"I knew Darius my uncle to be capable of so many things, but I never thought he could be capable of killing my father his brother." Bruce concluded and moved towards the fire. He picked up the remaining fish roasting above the fire and cut it into two pieces.
Bruce walked over to Elora, bent over and tried to put a piece into her mouth. She hesitated for a while shrugging her shoulders and looking at him suspiciously but when she saw the smile on his face, she opened her mouth and took a bite from the fish.
"What would you do with me?" She asked trying to be sure of what her fate would turn out to be in the hands of the Alpha she just attempted to kill.
Bruce kept mute for a while, Elora's eyes still gazing at him unsure of what his reaction was going to be but still hopeful that her fate was going to be favorable.
"You make your fate with your hands, others just attempt to change it. They won't unless you let them." Bruce said and untied her hands and her feet.
"Go tell the others what you have witnessed. Any more attempt to attack me and I would be the one sealing your fate." Then he turned and walked away slowly without looking back.
Elora continued to look at Bruce as he walked away speechless about the way things turned out but still glad he spared her life. With each moment passing by, Bruce's figure continued to fade away into the darkness. She gathered some strength, got up and hurried away.